Within this reading group, we will be reading the late imperial Chinese/Sinographic household encyclopedia (riyong leishu 日用類書) together. We are broadly interested in the question of how common or popular knowledge was conceived and presented for use within these texts.  In particular, we are interested in what the sources of such common knowledge were, how it relates to and can be distinguished from elite knowledge, and how these kinds of knowledge were produced, circulated and consumed. The household encyclopedia is one major source of such common(er) knowledge, but we are also interested in how these texts relate to other texts that were consumed by similar demographics.  

Each session will feature an excerpt from one such encyclopaedia and include a short exposition on a theme, followed by a close reading of the excerpt and a discussion. 

Our group will consist of working group members and several invited members from outside the institute. Colleagues, who are interested in learning more about the household encyclopedia and similar sources, are very welcome to join us. 

Language: Please note that the reading group will be conducted in English, but the primary sources will be in Chinese. An English translation will usually be provided but much of the discussion may centre on translation and philological issues related to the texts. 

Session Dates:

There will be 4 sessions between April and June, 2023: 

Session 1: Friday, April 14, 4 - 6 pm CEST
Session 2: Friday, May 5, 4 - 6pm CEST
Session 3: Friday, June 2, 4 - 6pm CEST
Session 4: Friday, June 30, 4 - 6pm CEST 
 

The monthly seminar "Early Science in Conversation" invites experts from different fields and with varied perspectives to examine the ways in which science defines itself and what the history of science is as a discipline. We will especially encourage collective reasoning about conceptions of science and the methodologies with which we inquire about our sources. Among other things, we will reflect on what have been regarded as premodern scientific and proto-scientific practices, their methods, and their techniques. This interdisciplinary encounter seeks to deepen the history of science’s awareness of its own agenda and to open up new pathways. The conversational format, along with lectures and discussions of work in progress, aims to build fruitful connections across the intellectual spectrum of the MPIWG.

This event is part of the Colloquium Series Department I—2023.

The Department III Colloquia are regular meetings for the department members to discuss our work in progress, to comment, and to help each other in our writing process. The format is a discussion of a pre-circulated paper, led by an introductory comment by an external discussant.

The monthly seminar "Early Science in Conversation" invites experts from different fields and with varied perspectives to examine the ways in which science defines itself and what the history of science is as a discipline. We will especially encourage collective reasoning about conceptions of science and the methodologies with which we inquire about our sources. Among other things, we will reflect on what have been regarded as premodern scientific and proto-scientific practices, their methods, and their techniques. This interdisciplinary encounter seeks to deepen the history of science’s awareness of its own agenda and to open up new pathways. The conversational format, along with lectures and discussions of work in progress, aims to build fruitful connections across the intellectual spectrum of the MPIWG.

The spring “Waste & Body” invited talk series explores the crossroads of the history and anthropology of waste and the body. It is organised as part of “The Waste of the Body” project in Department III at the MPIWG, and brings scholars from different domains of expertise to present their work that challenges our understanding of waste and the limits of the more-than-human body. 

The Department III Colloquia are regular meetings for the department members to discuss our work in progress, to comment, and to help each other in our writing process. The format is a discussion of a pre-circulated paper, led by an introductory comment by an external discussant.

This event is part of the Colloquium Series Department I—2023.

Within this reading group, we will be reading the late imperial Chinese/Sinographic household encyclopedia (riyong leishu 日用類書) together. We are broadly interested in the question of how common or popular knowledge was conceived and presented for use within these texts.  In particular, we are interested in what the sources of such common knowledge were, how it relates to and can be distinguished from elite knowledge, and how these kinds of knowledge were produced, circulated and consumed. The household encyclopedia is one major source of such common(er) knowledge, but we are also interested in how these texts relate to other texts that were consumed by similar demographics.  

Each session will feature an excerpt from one such encyclopaedia and include a short exposition on a theme, followed by a close reading of the excerpt and a discussion. 

Our group will consist of working group members and several invited members from outside the institute. Colleagues, who are interested in learning more about the household encyclopedia and similar sources, are very welcome to join us. 

Language: Please note that the reading group will be conducted in English, but the primary sources will be in Chinese. An English translation will usually be provided but much of the discussion may centre on translation and philological issues related to the texts. 

Session Dates:

There will be 4 sessions between April and June, 2023: 

Session 1: Friday, April 14, 4 - 6 pm CEST
Session 2: Friday, May 5, 4 - 6pm CEST
Session 3: Friday, June 2, 4 - 6pm CEST
Session 4: Friday, June 30, 4 - 6pm CEST 
 

The monthly seminar "Early Science in Conversation" invites experts from different fields and with varied perspectives to examine the ways in which science defines itself and what the history of science is as a discipline. We will especially encourage collective reasoning about conceptions of science and the methodologies with which we inquire about our sources. Among other things, we will reflect on what have been regarded as premodern scientific and proto-scientific practices, their methods, and their techniques. This interdisciplinary encounter seeks to deepen the history of science’s awareness of its own agenda and to open up new pathways. The conversational format, along with lectures and discussions of work in progress, aims to build fruitful connections across the intellectual spectrum of the MPIWG.

The monthly seminar "Early Science in Conversation" invites experts from different fields and with varied perspectives to examine the ways in which science defines itself and what the history of science is as a discipline. We will especially encourage collective reasoning about conceptions of science and the methodologies with which we inquire about our sources. Among other things, we will reflect on what have been regarded as premodern scientific and proto-scientific practices, their methods, and their techniques. This interdisciplinary encounter seeks to deepen the history of science’s awareness of its own agenda and to open up new pathways. The conversational format, along with lectures and discussions of work in progress, aims to build fruitful connections across the intellectual spectrum of the MPIWG.

This event is part of the Colloquium Series Department I—2023.

The monthly seminar "Early Science in Conversation" invites experts from different fields and with varied perspectives to examine the ways in which science defines itself and what the history of science is as a discipline. We will especially encourage collective reasoning about conceptions of science and the methodologies with which we inquire about our sources. Among other things, we will reflect on what have been regarded as premodern scientific and proto-scientific practices, their methods, and their techniques. This interdisciplinary encounter seeks to deepen the history of science’s awareness of its own agenda and to open up new pathways. The conversational format, along with lectures and discussions of work in progress, aims to build fruitful connections across the intellectual spectrum of the MPIWG.

This event is part of the Colloquium Series Department I—2023.